Tag Archives: aurora

MAVEN: ‘Stolen’ electrons cause unusual Mars aurora

Auroras appear on Earth as ghostly displays of colorful light in the night sky, usually near the poles. Our rocky neighbor Mars has auroras too, and NASA’s MAVEN spacecraft just found a new type of Martian aurora that occurs over … Continue reading

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Curiosity update: Down the ridge she comes

Sols 2036-37, April 27, 2018, update by MSL scientist Michelle Minitti: Curiosity continues to pick her way downhill off the “Vera Rubin Ridge” and onto the Murray formation rocks below. This weekend’s plan only covers two sols, to give Earth … Continue reading

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MAVEN: Large solar storm sparks global aurora, doubles radiation levels at surface

An unexpectedly strong blast from the Sun hit Mars this month, observed by NASA missions in orbit and on the surface. “NASA’s distributed set of science missions is in the right place to detect activity on the Sun and examine … Continue reading

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Mars ionosphere shaped by crustal magnetic fields

Scattered pockets of magnetism across the surface of Mars have a significant influence on the planet’s upper atmosphere, according to observations from ESA’s Mars Express. Understanding these effects may be crucial for ensuring safe radio communications between Mars and Earth … Continue reading

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Mars Express: New light on Mars’ UV aurora

ESA’s Mars Express has shed new light on the Red Planet’s rare ultraviolet aurora by combining for the first time remote observations with in situ measurements of electrons hitting the atmosphere. [...] These light displays are also found on other … Continue reading

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Blue, red, and green aurorae should be naked-eye visible in Martian sky

For the first time, an international team of scientists from NASA, the Institute of Planetology and Astrophysics of Grenoble (IPAG), the European Space Agency and Aalto University in Finland, have predicted that colorful, glowing aurorae can be seen by the … Continue reading

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MAVEN discovers aurora, high dust cloud at Mars

The MAVEN spacecraft has observed two unexpected phenomena in the Martian atmosphere: an unexplained high-altitude dust cloud and aurora that reaches deep into the Martian atmosphere. The presence of the dust at orbital altitudes from about 93 miles (150 kilometers) … Continue reading

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